Bourne hugs both sides of the Cape Cod Canal, where Buzzards Bay meets the rolling Atlantic tide. It feels more “gateway village” than tourist hotspot, year-round neighborhoods in Sagamore, Monument Beach, and Pocasset share the shoreline with boatyards and cranberry bogs. If you’re looking at homes for sale in Bourne you’ll see a mix of commuters crossing the canal bridges, retirees walking the Shining Sea Bikeway extension, and vacationers funneling toward beaches on sunny weekends.
What Is the Cost of Living in Bourne?
Bourne’s day-to-day costs sit a notch above many mainland Plymouth-County towns but below the sticker shock of the Mid-Cape. The town’s 2024 median household income floats around the mid-$90 Ks, while Massachusetts overall hovers near $100 K.
Housing is the swing factor: canal-view condos and salt-box cottages along Buzzards Bay lift the median sale price, yet inland pockets like Gray Gables and Sagamore Beach still post listings at or below the state median.
Groceries, utilities, and healthcare track Cape-wide averages—about 3 to 5 percent above the national baseline, according to the latest BLS Boston-Cambridge CPI report.
What Is the Crime Breakdown in Bourne?
Bourne Police forward all incident data to the Massachusetts Crime Data Portal and, by extension, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Reading those tables alongside local press logs paints the clearest picture.
Property Crime
- 2025 year-to-date: Larceny from motor vehicles and “other larceny” (package, bike, and boat-gear thefts) drive most counts. The weekly state portal snapshot showed roughly 190 property incidents through early September, on pace with the five-year average.
- Hot spots: Canal recreation lots, busy service plazas near Route 6, and summertime rental zones in Monument Beach.
Violent Crime
- Consistently low volume. The 2019 FBI UCR table logged 54 violent offenses; subsequent NIBRS years fluctuate between the high-40s and mid-60s. Assaults tied to domestic disputes or late-night bar traffic account for the bulk.
- Homicide remains rare. The town recorded one homicide in the last five calendar years, according to state records.
Other Crime
Quality-of-life issues; vandalism, disorderly conduct, OUI checkpoints—spike during peak tourist months. Crowd-related calls near the Bourne Scenic Park campground or along Main Street see short-term surges but seldom translate into serious charges.
How Do Crime Rates in Bourne Stack Up Against Nearby Towns?
- Sandwich: Violent & property indices well below national norms
- Falmouth: Below state averages for violent crime; moderate property counts
- Wareham: Higher property-crime rate, especially retail theft near I-195
Using the same data source for each comparison keeps methodology bias low. Overall, Bourne tracks closer to Sandwich and Falmouth than to Wareham on most metrics.
What Is the Chance of Being a Victim of Crime in Bourne?
Aggregated rates translate to roughly 1 in 61 odds of a property incident and 1 in 680 odds of a violent incident in a given year.
As always, those numbers shift by block and habit: leaving laptops visible in a car at the canal overlook, for instance, raises personal risk far more than the townwide average implies.
What Role Does the Bourne Police Department Play?
Bourne PD, headquartered off Main Street in Buzzards Bay, handles patrols, investigations, and marine enforcement along the canal. The department posts weekly logs, crime-mapping links, and community-meeting notices on its website.
Mutual-aid agreements with Barnstable County Sheriff and Massachusetts State Police supplement staffing during summer influxes or large-scale incidents.
What Community Safety Initiatives Are in Place?
- Neighborhood Watch nodes circle Gray Gables, Monument Beach, and Pocasset.
- Canal Rangers Program—volunteer cyclists and walkers who radio minor issues along the Cape Cod Canal path to police dispatch.
- CodeRED Alerts push text and voice notifications for weather events, road closures, and public-safety advisories.
- 311-style reporting portal lets residents flag streetlight outages, graffiti, and potholes that can affect daily safety.
Living in Bourne: Is It a Safe Place to Live?
Life in Bourne is shaped by the water. Mornings smell of salt air, and canal traffic hums in the background. Safety concerns revolve less around violent crime and more around securing bikes at trailheads, locking cars at beach lots, and steering clear of summer traffic pinch points.
Most residents describe the town as “laid-back but alert”—aware of seasonal pickpockets yet comfortable jogging the canal path at dusk.
What Is the Future Outlook for Crime in Bourne?
Massachusetts reported a 4.4 percent drop in Part One offenses in 2024, and preliminary 2025 state data suggest another incremental decline.
Bourne usually mirrors that arc. Continued investment in license-plate readers at bridge approaches, stepped-up canal patrols, and strong community policing should keep violent counts stable and property incidents manageable.
Bourne Safety FAQs
Yes—violent incidents remain low, and most property issues are quick “grab-and-go” thefts rather than break-ins. State police data show Bourne’s overall crime rate sits roughly 25 % below the Massachusetts average, with no neighborhood flagged as a persistent hotspot.
All three trend below national benchmarks for violent crime; Bourne’s rate is slightly higher than Sandwich but lower than Falmouth by about 10 incidents per 10,000 residents. For property theft, Bourne falls in the middle, posting fewer shoplifting cases than Falmouth but more unlocked-car thefts than Sandwich.
Summer crowds do bump up petty theft, parking disputes, and canal-area fender-benders, particularly on weekends when traffic backs up at the bridges. In response, Bourne PD adds bike and foot patrols near popular beaches and posts real-time alerts on social media during peak weeks.
Dial Bourne PD’s business line (508-759-4451) for reports that don’t require lights-and-sirens response, or submit details through the town’s online service portal. After hours, Barnstable County’s regional dispatch can route routine calls, while pothole, streetlight, or sidewalk concerns go directly to the DPW request form.
